Gambian leader Barrow vows to cut state expenditures

By Mustapha K. Darboe

BANJUL, Gambia (AA) - Gambia’s government is downsizing the fleet of state vehicles in a bid to massively slash costs, the president announced in his first Independence Day address since his extraordinary inauguration last year.

The move is expected to help the impoverished West African nation save some 300 million dalasis ($7 million) a year, or about four times the Justice Ministry budget.

"The vehicle policy will reduce our maintenance and fuel costs," added the president, Adama Barrow.

The government is also planning on auctioning some expensive cars such as Limousines, Rolls-Royces, and Hummers that former autocratic leader Yahya Jammeh left behind.

Gambia’s economy has suffered greatly especially over the last two years with low growth, amid rising government expenditures which took the public debt to a critical 120 percent of GDP.

Barrow, who took office only after a regional army forced Jammeh to leave, also declared a moratorium on the death penalty "as a first step towards abolition."

Winning the war "against the dictator was the easiest," Barrow told Gambians in his address.

Barrow also said his government has formulated a national development plan, to be updated quarterly, to diagnose the country’s problems and find solutions.